Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge got the better of compatriot and defending champion Wilson Kipsang to win the London Marathon by five seconds with world record holder Dennis Kimetto third.
Kipchoge, a former world champion at 5,000 metres, and Kipsang broke clear in the closing stages after a blistering race but it was Kipchoge who finished with a decisive burst of speed to win in 2:04.42.
Kipsang clocked 2:04.47 and Kimetto 2:05.50 after he failed to live with the late break of the leading pair.
Labelled the 'clash of the champions' by organisers, Sunday's race - headlined by Kenyans Kipsang, Kimetto, Emmanuel Mutai and Stanley Biwott - pitted eight sub-2:05 runners and five of the all-time top-10 in one of the fastest fields ever assembled.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa ended Kenya's domination of the women's race with a shock victory.
The 28-year-old Tufa, who was only the ninth-fastest in the field, seized a cagey race by the scruff of the neck in the closing stages to pull clear of the field and was able to wave to the crowds as she came down The Mall to win by 18 seconds from Mary Keitany.
It was the biggest win of her career and ended four years of domination by Kenya's women in the capital.
She crossed the line in an unofficial time of two hours 23 minutes and 22 seconds to become the first Ethiopian women's champion since Derartu Tulu in 2001.
Another Ethiopian, Tirfi Tsegaye, came home in third place.
As well as Paula Radcliffe's farewell, the race had been billed as a four-way fight between a quartet of Kenyans: defending champion Edna Kiplagat, two-time former champion Keitany, half-marathon world record holder Florence Kiplagat and Priscah Jeptoo, the winner in 2013.
Tufa had barely been mentioned in the build-up, but, beneath overcast skies in the capital, the slow pace played into her hands and she produced a 25th mile of 5mins 07secs to break her rivals. From that point on there was only one winner.
Meanwhile, a tearful Paula Radcliffe shouted her thanks to the thousands of fans lining the roads and linked hands with a club runner as she brought the curtain down on her glorious career.
The 41-year-old returned to the scene of her finest hour - her staggering world record of two hours 15 minutes 25 seconds set on the streets of the capital in 2003 - to race her final competitive marathon.
The days of running those sorts of times are over, but the cheers from the crowds were as loud for her as any of the champions as she came home in 2hrs 36mins 55secs.
Radcliffe yelled 'thank you' to the crowds as she rounded the final turn and came down The Mall hand in hand with a fellow runner - a homage to the first edition of the event when joint winners Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen crossed the line holding hands.
